


Finding Respite

by Astrid_Midnight



Series: Fates Intertwined [2]
Category: Final Fantasy VII Remake (Video Game 2020), Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Comfort, Fluff, Friendship, Gen, Hugs, Mystery
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-31
Updated: 2020-10-31
Packaged: 2021-03-08 20:33:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,977
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27302728
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Astrid_Midnight/pseuds/Astrid_Midnight
Summary: After accepting Aerith's help, Prompto discovers more about the flower merchant and the unfamiliar world he's found himself in.
Relationships: Prompto Argentum & Aerith Gainsborough
Series: Fates Intertwined [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1989808
Kudos: 7





	Finding Respite

**Author's Note:**

> Sooo... I guess I'm continuing this AU XD
> 
> This is a continuation of a short oneshot I posted a few months ago about Prompto and Aerith meeting! I have a few more ideas on this that I wanted to expand on a bit, so I've decided to make this a little series!! Don't exactly know how far I'm going to take it but I do want to write a few more pieces on it!!
> 
> Disclaimer: I own nothing.
> 
> Hope you enjoy!!

Midgar was definitely… interesting to say the least. To people that lived there for their whole lives, it probably wasn’t anything special. But to Prompto, it was nothing like what he knew back in Lucis. For one thing, Aerith explained that Midgar had different ‘sectors’ that were either on the ‘upper’ or ‘lower’ plate and that one would usually need to take the train in order to travel between the two.

Some buildings reminded him of home; there were residential areas and buildings of differing heights with different shops and the streets were bustling with people despite how dark it was at night. Prompto couldn’t help but wonder how a ‘plate’ could possibly hold up an entire city and how he wouldn’t have even noticed if Aerith hadn’t filled him in but he figured it was sturdy enough if it had been this way for years.

Even though there was a slight comfort of being in a city and around other people, Prompto was still in an unfamiliar place with no idea of how he got there or what to do next. Which was why he was extremely grateful for Aerith’s help. He felt slightly guilty that she was going out of her way to help him out but he didn’t really have any other option and he knew that he had to take all the help he could get.

During their trek to the train station, Aerith kept a firm grip on Prompto’s hand, gently dragging him through the various crowds that they had to weave through. Prompto wanted to tell her that he could follow her just fine but, at the same time, he didn’t want to risk losing her within the crowds. He figured that she had the same thought as well.

Despite Aerith’s energetic demeanour and her chipper voice, every now and again, she would go quiet and look to the side or up in the air, as if expecting to see something. Prompto would look behind them to see if there was anyone following or watching them. There wasn’t. He had no idea what Aerith was probably thinking but he knew better than to pry at the moment.

Soon enough, though, they had reached the train station. Thankfully, the train had arrived just on time and Aerith and Prompto immediately clamoured on. The train was a little crowded, possibly due to the rush hour at night, but Aerith had found them seats. Prompto hesitantly sat down next to her as she set her basket of flowers on her lap.

Aerith leaned back into her seat with a sigh and looked over at Prompto. “The trip shouldn’t take too long. We’ll reach Sector 5 before we know it!”

Prompto nodded and looked at the window, watching the scenery fly by. “Can’t believe this city is above ground. I’ve never seen anything like it!”

“Really? So, where you’re from _doesn’t_ have a giant city suspended above ground?”

Prompto looked back at Aerith, who was smiling slyly, and rolled his eyes. “Of course not. It’s not exactly something you’d expect to see.”

“I thought so.”

“So, you’ve lived here your whole life?”, Prompto asked.

Aerith opened her mouth to respond but she froze. She stared off for a moment before smiling wistfully, a solemn gleam in her eyes. “Yeah. I guess I have.”

She didn’t say anything more than that and, just as Prompto was about to respond, he saw something gleam from out the corner of his eye. His head whipped around and, out of the window, he saw this giant metal tower that was glowing green.

“Whoa! What is that?”

Aerith frowned and followed his line of sight. When she saw what he was looking at, she sighed and shook her head. “It’s a Mako Reactor.”

Prompto looked over at Aerith. “Uhhh, a what now?”

“It’s what… powers the city.”

Prompto slumped in his seat. Aerith didn’t sound too happy as she responded. “Something tells me that’s not all there is to it.”

“It’s… a bit of a long story.”

“One for later?”

A corner of Aerith's mouth quirked up in a half-smile. “One for later.”

* * *

Several minutes later, the train had finally pulled into Sector 5. Aerith hopped off, Prompto immediately stepping off after her. Even though not a lot of time had passed, the night had seemed to have gotten a lot darker. Prompto didn’t even know what time it was but he figured it was pretty late, though there were still quite a few people hanging around the station.

Prompto shivered and wrapped his hands around his bare arms. Aerith noticed his hunched over demeanour and smiled sympathetically. “Not much further. We’re pretty close to my house.”

“Cool,” Prompto exhaled. He didn’t know what his plan was once he got to Aerith’s house and he knew that he’d need some time to figure it out. But he also didn’t want to be kept in the dark about things any longer.

He just wanted to go _home_.

Thinking about home made him think of his friends. Did they know he was missing? Would they have any idea what had happened to him? Would they… be searching for him?

He let out a light, bitter chuckle. _Sorry, guys… think it’ll be a while before I can get back…_

Prompto was drawn from his thoughts when he felt Aerith take his hand again and harshly pull him to the side. She crouched behind a pile of crates and Prompto followed suit, not knowing what had gotten her so jittery all of a sudden. Her eyes were wide and every now and again, she would peek out and then immediately ducked her head back down. He heard her mutter under her breath, "Seriously? Of all the times..." Taking a gamble, Prompto peeked out from behind and followed Aerith’s line of sight.

Across from where they were, standing away from the crowd of civilians, was a man in a pressed black suit, complete with matching shoes and gloves. He was turning around slowly in a small circle, clearly looking for something, despite the dark shades covering his eyes. The man remained that way for another minute before supposedly giving up on his search and strode away from where Aerith and Prompto were hiding.

When he eventually left their line of sight, Prompto heard Aerith heave a heavy sigh before reluctantly emerging from behind the crates, checking to see if the man was really gone.

Prompto emerged from behind her. “You alright?”

Aerith whipped around quickly, as if shocked by his sudden voice. However, she soon regained her composure and smiled a little too brightly. “Yeah! All good!”

Prompto nodded slowly, clearly not buying her answer. He gestured to where the man had left. “Friend of yours?”

Aerith looked back around and then shrugged. “Something like that, I guess.”

“Is he going to give you any trouble?” He didn’t know what the deal was but he wasn’t about to let Aerith be in danger after what she was doing for him.

However, Aerith shook her head. “No, he won’t. For now, anyways…”

Prompto opened his mouth to respond but Aerith beat him to the punch. “It’s clear shot to my house from here! Let’s go!”

She immediately began to walk away and Prompto stumbled to keep up with her. He knew that Aerith wasn’t going to be quick to open up, especially to someone she just met, so Prompto decided to just take in the scenery around him. The area around the train station was definitely industrial but as Aerith guided him through the slums, he could see that it became more overrun with nature. Houses and buildings lined the rocky dirt path, grass and other vegetation guiding their way. Despite it dark, a lot of people were still hanging around outside. They seemed to know Aerith, as their faces lit up and they waved at her as they passed, with her waving back to them.

It still seemed unnatural to Prompto that people could stand outside at night so calmly. While the threat was never present back in Insomnia, outside of the Wall, the only way one could be safe outside at night was by staying at a Haven. Lest they wanted to get into scrapes with daemons. Here, however, there didn’t seem to be any them around which, ironically, put Prompto even more on edge. If there were no daemons in this place, then he was definitely a _long_ way from home.

Prompto stopped himself from dwelling too much on it again. Constantly going over what had happened in his head wasn’t going to give him an answer or solution. He had to remind himself to take it one step at a time and everything would work out.

Hopefully…

* * *

“Whoa! This is where you live!”, Prompto exclaimed as they rounded the corner to Aerith’s house.

“Uh-huh!”

In front of the small house was a massive garden with a stream of water running through it, coming from a waterfall. Not surprising to Prompto, the entire garden was covered in various flowers, some of which he recognised from the ones in Aerith’s basket.

“It’s amazing! I never thought one garden could have so many flowers!”

Aerith shrugged. “They grow easily here, though it has taken a long time to cultivate them like this.” She turned to Prompto. “They’re like my babies.”

Prompto chuckled, “Well, it seems to me like you’ve been taking good care of them! They look amazing!”

Aerith beamed at him. “Thanks! It’s my hope that they’ll bring joy to whoever they go to.” 

“I’m sure they do.”

By the time their conversation ended, the two of them had reached the front door of Aerith’s house. She opened the door and stepped in, Prompto following in after her.

“I’m home!”, she called out.

A sigh was heard from one end of the house, presumably the kitchen. “Hey, honey. You really decided to cut it close tonight," an older woman's voice said "I thought I told you not to stay out too late on your own!”

Aerith pouted. “I know! It’s just-” She quickly glanced back at Prompto. “something came up.”

Prompto’s face grew red and he ran his hands up his arms, already feeling like an intruder.

“Like what?” The woman emerged from the kitchen. She was wearing a green dress and her brown hair was tied up in a bun. Her eyes immediately landed on Aerith but she frowned when she caught sight of Prompto behind her.

Aerith stepped to the side. “Mom, this is Prompto.” She turned to him. “Prompto, this is Elmyra, my mom.”

Prompto smiled nervously and gave a small, awkward wave. “Uh, nice to meet you.”

Elmyra didn’t respond, instead looked at Aerith with a confused and unimpressed expression.

Not missing a beat, Aerith said, “Prompto is… a bit lost. And doesn’t… exactly know how to get home. So, I figured that instead of wandering around in the dark, he could stay the night and get his bearings in the morning!”

Prompto appreciated that Aerith didn’t mention the detail of him not knowing where he was _at all_ and that he was definitely not from here. And he was _not_ ready to explain that situation to someone else.

Elmyra didn’t respond immediately. Instead, she looked at her daughter in silence before looking over at Prompto. Despite her neutral expression, it was obvious that she was intently studying him, probably trying to decipher whether he was bad news or not. Prompto couldn’t blame her; he’d be wary too if a stranger requested a place to stay for the night. Not to mention Elmyra had her daughter to think about as well.

For a second, Prompto thought that Elmyra was going to refuse him and a million worse case scenarios raced through his head. However, she sighed and turned back to Aerith.

“And are you sure about him?”

Aerith nodded without hesitation. “Yeah. He’s good. I know he is.” Prompto smiled weakly at the vote of confidence.

Elmyra held her hands up in mock surrender. “Alright. I trust your judgement. But you’re responsible for him and anything that happens.”

And Prompto _did not_ have to stop himself from looking offended at being treated like a kid.

Aerith jumped and clapped her hands. “Great! Now that that’s out of the way-” She grabbed Prompto’s hand and dragged him to the dining table. “Just in time for dinner! Hope you got enough for one more!”

Elmyra chuckled. “There’s plenty to go around.”

Prompto reluctantly sat at the table and Aerith plopped down next to him. “You’re gonna love my mom’s cooking; she’s the best chef out there!”

“Looking forward to it.” He turned to Aerith with a solemn but earnest look. “Thank you so much for all of this, Aerith. I don’t know how to repay you.”

Aerith smiled warmly and placed a comforting hand over his. “You don’t have to. I’m always happy to help.”

* * *

“I still can’t thank you enough for this,” Prompto repeated as Aerith helped him make up the bed in the guest bedroom.

“Don’t mention it. My mom and I are always willing to help people here in the slums. Why should we treat you any different?”

Prompto scratched the back of his head. “I guess you’re right… but still, I’m a stranger. Why would you trust me so easily?”

“Do you want me to _not_ trust and help you?”

“Of course not!”

“I’m just messing with you,” Aerith laughed. She slowly went silent, as if deep in thought. “I can’t explain it. But I just know I can trust you.”

“And how do you know that for sure?”

Aerith smirked. “You’ve got your secrets, I’ve got mine.”

Prompto shrugged. “Fair enough. So, what happens next?”

Aerith patted the now-made bed. “First, you get some rest. It’s been a long night and we’ll probably need the energy. Tomorrow, we’re gonna make a start on finding out what happened to you and how to get you home.”

Prompto looked down at wooden floor, unconvinced. He moodily swung a foot back and forth. “Easier said than done…”

Aerith frowned and put her hands on her hips. “We’ll figure it out, I swear!”, she insisted. “Do you trust me?”

Looking up Aerith, Prompto considered her question. In any other circumstance, he figured that it would be risky to trust a stranger this quickly but Aerith had been nothing but kind to him when she didn’t have to be. He wasn’t suspicious of Aerith and he had no reason to not trust her. He somehow knew that Aerith would be able to help him and if he had any chance of getting home, he would need to continue to trust what she was saying.

“Yeah,” he replied with sincerity. “I do.”

Satisfied with his answer, Aerith gave him a relieved smile. She rounded the bed and approached Prompto. Without warning, she pulled him into a hug. “Thank you, Prompto. I’m going to do everything I can to help you.”

Prompto paused but then returned the hug. “Thanks, I appreciate it.”

She hugged him a little tighter and ran a hand down his back. “Everything’s gonna be alright. I promise.” They remained that way for another minute before they broke apart. “Well, it’s getting late. I think we both need our sleep.”

“You got that right.”

“Alright, then.” Aerith went to the entrance of the room. “Goodnight, Prompto. Sweet dreams.”

“Night, Aerith.”

After she left, Prompto climbed into bed and turned out the lights. He laid in the bed and stared up at the ceiling for a long moment, the day’s events constantly replaying in his mind. He didn’t know what he expected to happen ever since he first woke up in Midgar but ending up in the guest bedroom of a stranger’s house definitely wasn’t the first thing that came to mind.

Now that he was able to relax, it fully hit Prompto just how lost he felt. He was who knows how far away from home and there didn’t seem to be any hope of him ever getting back. Not to mention, he was already missing his friends, worrying about what they were thinking when he disappeared out of the blue. He hoped they weren’t too worried about him. He wished they knew he was safe. Would they have any idea what had happened to him? Would they also be searching for a way to bring him back?

Prompto sighed. He had no idea what to think. He was at a loss of what had even sent him to Midgar in the first place, so he hoped the guys would figure out what happened on their end. Though that was wishful thinking on his part…

Regardless of what this situation had left him in, one thing Prompto knew for sure was that he was thankful for Aerith’s help. She saw a stranger in dire need for assistance and she offered her help without any hesitation. He had no idea how he’d ever repay her for that.

If Prompto was being completely honest, he was terrified of what the future had in store for him. He was afraid that no matter what they did, he would be unable to get home. Unable to ever see his friends again. He had to stop himself from tearing up at the thought. There was no use trying to predict the future now, not when they’d hadn’t even made a start yet.

Even though Prompto was afraid of the future, he had to stop himself from dwelling on it. Aerith promised that she would do everything to help him and Prompto trusted her word. With her help, they’d figure it out together.

With determination spurred on by that thought, Prompto finally allowed himself to drift off to sleep, confident that they’d make progress in the morning.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks so much for reading!! Don't know when I'll get the next chapter written but hopefully it won't be too long!!
> 
> Twitter: @xvsylleblossoms


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